Goodwill South Florida needs community’s goodwill to help vulnerable
This community must come together to help our most vulnerable residents. While we all work to protect our livelihoods amid the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, workers with special needs find themselves defenseless.
This most marginalized population is working under a triple threat of disabilities, limited work skills and living paycheck to paycheck. They require the social services and programs that only certain employers can offer, most of which are nonprofit organizations that are currently struggling to stay afloat.
Goodwill South Florida is a nonprofit organization that provides training and employment to people with disabilities and other work barriers. It has been a core member of the South Florida community for more than 60 years, and is a safe haven for thousands of employees with special needs. Goodwill’s mission is to protect and support these most vulnerable people, but right now, in the face of this crisis, it, too, is vulnerable.
Goodwill’s success has come from its stores — all now closed — and the apparel manufacturing operation, now closed, too. Goodwill is still operating the laundry business that supports local hospitals, critical during this crisis, as well as janitorial services for government buildings. But because the stores and manufacturing operations are closed, Goodwill has furloughed 2,200 of its 3,000 program participants, because it does not have the funds to pay for their leave.
To combat this challenge, Goodwill South Florida has set up an Emergency Employee Fund. All donations will make a difference in Goodwill’s ability to continue to help the thousands of people with disabilities it employs. We are encouraging the community to go to goodwillsouthflorida.org and donate.
Also, while Goodwill has closed its stores, the donation trailers are still open. Please bring your goods to one of these trailers. Donations are the lifeblood of the stores, and items contributed will be put on the website for online sales, as well as transferred to the stores for sale once they reopen.
During these difficult times, it is important to remember those more vulnerable than we are and “share our goodwill.” Let’s pull together and help the neediest people in our community survive this crisis.